The Labor enquirer., 1887-02-05
The Economized Labor Would
Go 10 The Community's
Golfers.
Capital Claims itsl. Blood. Money
for Every Necessary Of
Society.
The Sociallstic Society Of the Future
viii Contain No Exploited
Proletariat.

Folk who do not understand Social
ism, and who are therefore unable 10
recognize In Its fullness the real slgnia.
cance Of the economic and social Revo-
luton. sometimes imagine, and urge
against the acceptance Of our beliefs
that large works Of public utility. such
as railroads. canals, and 30 on. will have
small or no'chance of being constructed
after the direct stimulus ofpersonsl and
private proatihas been removed. Still
Oore impossible do they think II will
be for such an enterprise 10 be UNDER
taken as the embankment ofa river or
the building Of q harbor where the i'm
mediate necessities Of the men then
living do. not dictate IL.
Under Socialism, all things necessary
to the production Of wealth will be held
and possessed In common there will be
no special prerogative to one or to the
other whereby he may take or claim for
himself the benefit accruing from any
work done for the community; private
property will have perishsd, and with II
the power Of extortings revenue from
those desiring access to any Of the
means Of life. Thus 10 those who are
unable TO project themselves in thought
beyond the present system, or who, In
other words, when thinking out the de-
tails Of society In tho future are unwit-
tingly warped by considerations drawn
wholly from that Of today, II seams rs
though nothing beyond mems immedi.
ate daily. or at most monthly and
yearly. necessities will be attended to
when the work that should supply a
want, to be pressingfy felt only at some
further future time, cannot be under
taken by men who may reckon upon
exclusive and large profits arising from
II TO themselves.
And again, they say. when no man
.L.ssasses large accumulated capital
,ss,owill be none capable Of entering
upon any great work, even were the
public conscience 80 fully developed
that men undertook. a work because 1t
was good, and waited for no other rea.
son.
Further. IL is claimed that when CON-
petition Is abolished and rival con-
tractors no longer bid In DEVILS Dutch
auction for the privilege Of exploiting
the construction Of q publis work, II
must OF necessity be done In an expen-
sive. wasteful way. and the gain to the
laborers engaged upon work be loss
TO the communitvat large.
These be objections worth consider
ing. for that their putting forward shows
at least that the ohjector has tried to
think on the subject, sees naught re-
pulsive in Socialism itself, and is en-
deavoring to reason out It's ultimate
effects. e.
To-day. when a tunnel. railroad. or
canal Is found to be required, q number
Of capitalists. large or small, are bapded
together to form company-that Is to
say, TO combine their resources and COM
mand enough money to pay for its con.
struction. These men receive tenders
from snndrv contractors, each promising
more work or lesser price than his fell
low. Then that one is selected who
unItes these two desiderata In the great
est degree, and the work Is handed over
to him. He. again, subdivides and con-
tracts with other men for this and that
portion oft. When IL Is com, leted and
has been handed over to Its "owners"
they appoint manager or superintend.
ent, who, with q staff Of employees Of all
kinds. does the real work OF the con
cern, while the shareholders simply
perform the helpful function Of consum-
ing It's profits among them. The charges
for the use OF the railroad or whatnot
are regulated solely bv what can be got
out OF the public without making the
demand 80 exorbitant @ to provoke
competition by making II worth whilr
for rival shoal ofsharks TO struggle for
the spoils.
When some par. Of .hS coast is
being eaten away. ora river overdows
Its banks frequently, causing constant
loss or inconvenience to the community,
recourse Is again had to the capitalist,
Whatever public body II is that must
see to the construction Of the sea.wall
or river. .embankment, borrows money
from whose wilt lend II at interest, q nd
Herewith sets to work in the same wa'
@aboye described. This money, with
the interest agreed upon. is afterwardi
repaid to the lenders from the labor o
the community.
Now what is done In all these cases I
this; A certain thing. be II a building
railroad. canal. or sea.wall, Is seen to b
required by the community. II 10 esti
mated that 90 much labor will be re
quired for its construction. such and sucl
tools and plant to render the labor edec
tive. and an ascertainable amount o
food. clothing, housing. and so on. TO
the laborers. The tools and plant ar'
simply the embodiments Of stored.ul
labor, and the food and 90 on produced
while the work Is proceeding. and fur